xxx threat to brands

Applications opened this week for the new .xxx domain, which is designed to clearly signpost global AEI sites. Due to concerns that non-AEI brands will have their trademarks held to ransom by cyber squatters, brand owners will be able to block their trademarks from registration under the .xxx domain. This option is not available to brand owners cyber-squatted under other domains, such as .com.

Douglas Thomson, trademark attorney at Marks & Clerk, said: “Cybersquatting—whereby opportunists buy up branded domain names in the hope of re-selling them—is a problem across the net, but has the potential for uniquely embarrassing and damaging consequences in this case.

“With other domains, the only effective means of brand protection is to buy the name you want protected, a far costlier and more time consuming process which still leaves you with a website you don’t necessarily want.

“The only sure way to protect their brands cheaply is by blocking them from the .xxx domain.”

According to ICM Registry, the company behind .xxx, brand owners have a 50-day “sunrise” period ending on 28 October 2011 in which to either register or block their brand.